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As a former lawyer and president of the 49ers, Carmen Policy offered an eloquent and persuasive case this week outlining why Eddie DeBartolo Jr. should be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.

Interestingly, in supporting the candidacy of the owner who presided over arguably the NFL’s greatest dynasty, Policy didn’t begin his opening argument by discussing DeBartolo.

“First of all,” Policy said, “let’s talk about Bill Walsh.”

Policy’s point? A mark of great bosses is their ability to hire great employees. And DeBartolo, one of 15 modern-day Hall of Fame finalists, made one of the greatest hires in NFL history when he tapped Walsh to guide the 49ers in 1979.

Of course, DeBartolo not only hired Walsh but also used his spare-no-expense style to ensure that the legendary tactician had the best players with which to strategize. And those players were lavished with the best of everything, from thank-you gifts (Rolexes) to hotels (five-star only) to Super Bowl celebrations (that all-expenses-paid week in Hawaii after the 1989 season) to contracts that were so generous that the parity-conscious NFL instituted a salary cap in 1993 to even the playing field.

In return for his largesse, DeBartolo was rewarded. The final tally from his 23-year run as the 49ers’ owner: five Super Bowl titles, 10 conference championship games, 13 division championships and an NFL-record 16 straight double-digit-win seasons.

That’s quite a resume. And, last month, it landed DeBartolo, whose five Super Bowls are the most by an individual owner in NFL history, on the footsteps of football immortality when he was named a Hall-of-Fame finalist for the first time. Whether he takes the final step will be up to the 44 NFL writers who will meet in Indianapolis this morning to determine the class of 2012.

A maximum of five modern-day finalists can be selected, and there are no slam-dunk enshrinees among the final 15 this year. If elected, DeBartolo, 65, would be the only owner enshrined in Canton who purchased his team after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

“I was totally surprised,” DeBartolo said of being named a finalist. “I was flabbergasted, to be honest with you, and I was humbled beyond belief. Your life kind of flashes before you – at least my 23 years, my football life. And I start thinking about Bill. And I start thinking about all our players and coaches and our front-office people. A lot of things go through your mind, including the great fans that I have a kinship with.”

Going first class

DeBartolo connected with fans because of his bottom line: winning Super Bowls.

In pursuit of titles, DeBartolo opened his seemingly bottomless wallet to ensure his players were given first-class treatment.

Players who participated in a charity might receive a Rolex for their time. Injured players who had to stay behind in a hospital after a road game were flown back home in his private jet. Those who fell into financial trouble often got their contracts restructured by Policy at DeBartolo’s behest. Wives and girlfriends were showered with gift cards and flowers, making them feel like part of the family.

When 49ers safety Jeff Fuller lost the use of his right arm after a helmet-to-helmet tackle in 1989, DeBartolo set up a personally funded annuity that Policy says will pay Fuller about $125,000 a year for life. Policy said then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue contacted the 49ers after Fuller’s injury and DeBartolo’s gesture became the model the league followed in caring for players who suffer catastrophic injuries.

Known for his temper and sky-high expectations, DeBartolo wasn’t a benevolent boss at all times. He had run-ins with Walsh, and his relationship with Policy was strained by the late ’90s.

But his generosity overwhelmed any hard feelings.

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Walsh is one of four 49ers Hall-of-Famers who asked DeBartolo to present them when they were enshrined in Canton, a group that includes Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Fred Dean. For his part, Policy routinely gets together with his old boss when he comes back to California. The two sat together in a suite at Candlestick Park with their wives when DeBartolo was the honorary captain for the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game in January.

“With Eddie, it was, ‘You play for me, you win for me, I take care of you,’ ” Policy said. “It’s all about winning. It was about how you play and how we win. It wasn’t about, ‘How much can I make off the suites. How much can I make off the tickets? Where’s my sponsorship bottom line?’ That was always a detail to help support the main effort. And the main effort was winning. As opposed to putting a team on the field and hoping they win because if they win it will enhance your main concern, which is the bottom line.”

Given the 49ers’ wild success, DeBartolo appears worthy of induction into Canton. But there are questions about how Hall-of-Fame voters will view the messy end to his magical ride.

The NFL fined DeBartolo $1 million and suspended him for the 1999 season after he pleaded guilty to a felony: failing to report a bribe request from then-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards when DeBartolo was attempting to obtain a riverboat casino license.

Reorganization

In 2000, the 49ers were fined $300,000 by the NFL and stripped of two draft picks for salary-cap violations that occurred under DeBartolo’s watch.

During his suspension, the family reorganized its business operations and his sister, Denise DeBartolo York, assumed control of the 49ers while DeBartolo took over the family’s real-estate holdings.

Today, DeBartolo lives in Tampa, Fla., and is CEO of DeBartolo Holdings LLC, which is involved in real estate, money management and sports entertainment, among other interests. He has offered counsel to his nephew, 49ers president and CEO Jed York, in recent years, but has not been directly involved in the NFL for more than a decade.

He understands his one-year suspension from the league will be raised when his candidacy is discussed today.

“I’m not trying to say Eddie DeBartolo belongs in the Hall of Fame, but I think that that sequence of events that we had as a team through the ’80s and the early ’90s, almost a decade-and a half, deserves some recognition,” DeBartolo said. “It falls in an area that, really, whatever transpired shouldn’t be taken into consideration. I know it is, and it probably should be with some people, but I just think I’ll let the chips falls where they may. And we’ll let our record stand on its own.”

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Announcements that will be made today in Indianapolis, site of Sunday’s Super Bowl: